The Mystery of the Black Knight
by Penny Charlotte Brown
Summary: One day, detective Henry Williams runs into a mystery, he cannot solve;he needs help from the famous detective: Sherlock Holmes.
1. Chapter 1

**The mystery of the Black Knight**

Chapter 1:The first day of the rest of my life

It was the year 1889-exactly one hundred years from the French Revolution-that changed my life-completely. How it started, you must wonder. Well, do you believe in dreams? Now, I don´t mean those regular dreams that everyone sees, but those dreams that you believe are true even after you wake up. As long as I recall, I had these dreams where a beautiful blond woman dressed in a uniform, calls me by my name…Henry. Oh yes, I forgot to introduce myself: My name is Henry Williams and I was- at the time -25 year old detective working at the London Police Department. I was the only child of my parents, and sometimes I felt lonely as if something was missing. My parents got separated when I was about fifteen, and my mother moved into countryside and as what goes with my father, is that he still lives in London, even today. In those days I used to live with my grandmother, who had a café downstairs.

At that time there had been a series of burglaries since about a month. The thief called the Black Knight had been a regular visitor among the rich people in London, and no matter what we did, he always got away. He was always one step ahead of us, it seemed.

Then one night as I was talking with his co-worker Alain de Soisson at the office, we got a notice of yet another burglary. "Another day, another burglary" I thought. Nothing special, just the same as usually, or so I thought. But boy I was wrong…

Anyway, that´s how it started…

We headed straight away outside to take the carriage to the manor to investigate the burglary. "So, Henry. When will you ask Rosalie out on a date?" Alain suddenly broke the silence "You know she´s crazy about you". Rosalie had been my neighbor for the last ten years and during that time we had become friends. That was all, but I always had hard time to convince Alain that I wasn´t interested in women, at least not that moment. "I am married to my work" I replied to his inquiry "and I have no time for women". Alain and I had been working together for few years now and sometimes we even went out to drink together. He was a good pal, but sometimes he just made me want to knock his teeth out. Thank God he dropped the subject, at least for the time being.

We then got inside the carriage and told the driver the instructions:" To the de Jarjayes manor". That was the name of the family that had become the latest victims of the Black Knight. Their manor was located further away from our department, so we had decided on taking the carriage. It didn´t take long to get there.

When we got to the manor, we knocked at the front door. Soon the butler opened it and let us inside."Sir" he told his master "the detectives are here". Right at that moment an older gentleman came to greet us. "Thank you" the man replied and introduced himself to us. He was a count René de Jarjayes, a man in his 60s. He was very decent looking gentleman and in good condition. There was something about him that made me respect him.

We sat down in his study as the butler came with cups of tea. Count de Jarjayes started to tell us what had happened. According to him the burglary had happened the night before and the burglar had come inside through a window from the upper floor.

Suddenly, I stopped taking notes and just stood still for a moment. I thought my imagination had played tricks on me, but no. There was someone playing the violin upstairs. I recognized the piece of music; it was Mozart. I have always loved violin music. For some reason. I never took the time to learn it myself though, but I was always going head first to any concert that concerned violins. Once the count noticed my stillness, he explained "That´s my youngest daughter, Françoise. She loves to play the violin, and I must say; she´s really good at it." I listened to the music. It was amazing."Yes, I must say she is brilliant."

"So, how many people live here?" Alain asked. He really didn´t care much about violin music so he went on with our investigation. "It´s just her and I living here with a couple of servants. My wife past away about a month ago." the count explained "and my older daughters are already married and left me." Then he told the servant to get his daughter to greet us.

As we heard footsteps coming towards us, we got up to greet her.

Few moments later she opened the door to the study and stepped inside…I couldn´t believe my eyes, when I saw her…she was exactly like the woman in my dreams. I never had thought the day would come that I would be looking at the woman I´ve dreamed of for so long. But there she was; alive right in front of me.

I´ve never seen anyone so beautiful; she had blond hair tide on the top of her head showing her perfect face; she had sea blue eyes and her log black lashes and her perfect thin eyebrows made the perfect frame for those sapphire eyes, and her lips were light red just like a rose, her body was perfectly shaped; she had small but beautiful chest and long legs…Did I say that? That is at least how I imagined her body. Her dress covered her features quite well. In my dreams she had always worn a men´s clothes, but now she was wearing a bluish dress that suited for her eyes…

Who was this Goddess that had hunted me in my dreams?


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Disappointment?

I couldn´t help looking at her: The woman in front of me looked like the Goddess Venus…

But soon my excitement turned into a disappointment and my heart almost stopped when I saw her wearing a ring on her finger. Was she married? That was my first thought. But then I remembered what the count had told only a few minutes ago "my older daughters are already married" so it meant that she wasn´t, at least not yet. So she was engaged? I must admit that at that moment I felt very much disappointed; just as I had met the right woman, she was engaged. But of course she was getting married; after all she was at that age. "Why wouldn´t she?" I thought. "Everyone gets married, well, at least everyone else except me…So, why would I feel anything about it?" But then again, why would I have seen those dreams of her? I was completely lost. There had to be an explanation, of some sort.

"Detective Williams and officer de Soisson, let me introduce my daughter, Françoise de Jarjayes." said the count waking me up from my dreams. "Concentrate, Henry" I told myself. No matter what this was all about, I had to be professional about my job. I had come there to investigate the burglary.

Right at that moment I felt strange, as if she had been watching me. But when I looked into her eyes, her gaze was at Alan. "Officer" she said and offered her hand to him. "Alain de Soisson. Pleasure to meet you, Miss." said my partner while shaking her hand."Likewise, officer." she returned the compliment."Although the circumstances are not the best."

Then she turned towards me. "Mademoiselle" I managed to say, took her hand, and kissed it…I tried not to look at her. I didn´t want her notice my confusion.

"Mademoiselle?" she laughed. I sensed uneasiness in her laughter. Was she nervous? But why? And why was she laughing like that anyway? Was it so amusing to her that I addressed her like that?

"I´m not French" she said. "Although, our family does come from France…" Then she suddenly stopped. …This was awkward. No, more than awkward…There she was standing right in front of me, but…"Should I just ask if we´ve met before?" I thought. No, it would have sounded like I was hitting on her…I felt embarrassed. I lowered my gaze trying to avoid her eyes, but then my eyes wandered to her finger and looked at her finger. I couldn´t help staring at it. It really bothered me.

"Oh, You were looking at my engagement ring." She noticed.

"My daughter is already 24 years of age" said the count "she was lucky to have such a good candidate. He is very wealthy and known figure." He seemed to be proud. Why was I so annoyed?

So, she was engaged to a rich man? I shook my head… "Stop it, Henry" I told myself. I really needed to calm down and think of the case in hand. I was a professional detective and I wasn´t going to let my feelings take over me.

"Please, take a seat" she said.

We all sat down. I changed a new page in my notebook and started to take her comments on what she knew about the burglar. She told us that she was fast asleep and so couldn´t have heard burglar broken in. It was only when the maid screamed, that she had woken up and went upstairs to see the room."Your room is…" Alain asked her."On the second floor". she replied."And the burglary took place on the third?" I asked her."Yes" responded the count" Shall we take a look?" We got up and went to upstairs…

Then we all went to check the window. There were clear signs of an enforced entrance: the glass to the balcony had been broken and the pieces were all scattered across the room. As we went to the balcony, we noticed that the only way the burglar could have come there, was from the roof. As I checked the scene of the crime, Alan took notes of the things that were missing.

After that, we left.

It is already turned dark and it is raining outside. We parted right after we left the manor.

Alain was going to see some prostitutes and asked me along. I said no. I´ve told him a few times already that that sort of behavior wasn´t proper for a police officer. "You´ll be a virgin for the rest of your life!" he replied. Sometimes I just wanted to knock his teeth out. So what if I weren´t interested in women? At least not in those poor women who had nothing else except to offer their bodies to filthy men in order to feed themselves. I wished that there would something I could do to these poor women that they didn´t have to do that. It was only last year, when some of these women were brutally attacked and killed by a stranger. Or perhaps by a client? I remembered it clearly, because I, too, where involved with the investigations and saw the mutilated corpses. These cases still casted a dark shadow over London. Everyone was afraid, because he was still free, lurking somewhere in the shadows.

Anyway, back with my story…After Alain had left, I stood there at the doorstep alone. I turned my collar up to cover my face and walked into the rain. It was few miles to the bakery I lived, but I didn´t want to take the carriages either. There was something bothering me, since recent. I didn´t exactly know what it was, but…I had to clear my thoughts before going home. Don´t give me wrong, I do love my grandmother, but she´s so into talking all the time, that sometimes I just need to get away for that and be alone with my thoughts. This was that kind of a moment.

When I reached my home, Rosalie was standing there waiting for me."Oh my God! Henry!" she yelled when she saw me "You´re soaking wet!" I saw her concern" Has something happened?" she asked. "No, I´m fine. I just…" that was a weird moment, I didn´t know what to say. She dragged me inside and ran to get a towel.

I took the towel from her…"You shouldn´t be awake at this time of the night." I said to her."I was worried about you" she replied."As you can see, I´m fine now. I´m going to change my wet clothes, have some tea and go to take a bath. And you, young lady, are going to bed. Right now."

She looked tired "But Henry". She tried to help me, but sometimes she was just too nice for me. I really didn´t deserve her kindness…I sent her to her own house next door, where she had been living with her parents and her brother Thomas and sister Dianne for ten years now. For these past ten years we all have become good friends.

Some days passed by. Nothing, absolutely nothing. By "nothing" I mean that there was no other burglary. Those days seemed to last forever, because I could only think of her; my…dream lady. There was something about her I didn´t understand, but I had no idea of what it was. As if I was lost. I wanted to see her again, but that would have seemed too obvious, wouldn´t it? So, I had to wait…

Then, my waiting was rewarded: there was another burglary. I went immediately to investigate the burglary in order to find more clues. Maybe I could also have an excuse to visit her, again?

After investigating the new crime scene, I went to de Jarjayes manor to warn them about the possibility of being targeted again. That was of course very unlikely, but there was something that had been bothering me so I just had to go back there. My instinct told me something. But what? This time it was the lady Françoise who I first met at the living room. But she wasn´t alone, there was a man, about ten years older than me, with her.

"This is my fiancé Count Gerodero" she introduced him…"And this is the detective Williams who is currently investigating the burglary"

"So nice to meet you" he said with a cold voice holding a glass of wine in his hand. "I hope you are qualified for the job. I hope you realized how much money they have lost". What a character, I thought. He made my blood spoil, for some reason. I didn´t like him at all. Besides he was much older than her. I never knew what Françoise ever saw in him. Could it be his money, as her father had told? Was that the reason she had accepted his proposal?

"Now, come come" she said to him "Don´t offend the detective"

I really didn´t like the atmosphere there, so I told about the possibility of another robbery and made an excuse to leave. Quite frankly, if I had stayed a bit longer, I would have punched him…

I needed something else to focus on; so I thought if I would catch the Black Knight. At least that would be something. I wanted to catch the thief in the act and so lured him, at night times. This went on for many nights, staying awake at nights luring on the rooftops while waiting for the burglar to come out. But even then, I couldn´t help my mind from wandering, to her…Why was she always in my dreams, night and day?

It was on those nights that I learned something of this harsh world: they were many men who had to rise up early in the morning to clean people´s chimneys. They were really doing a very dangerous job, and I must admit that I admired their bravery.

Day times I spent sleeping. My grandmother wasn´t very fond of it, but what could have done? It was my job as a detective to catch the Black Knight. Then one night I did managed to pump into him as he was about to break into yet another manor. As soon as I saw him the burglar I ran after him. But he was very agile and fast. Even if I considered myself to be in a very good shape, he got away after a long chase. "God damn it!" I swore. At that moment I thought my day had started bad, but then…

…when I was on my way to my home that morning I saw count Gerodero with a strange woman. It wasn´t my…I mean lady Françoise. This woman was a red haired, cheerful and pretty. Pretty enough for men to turn around to look at her. I think it was that moment I had made up my mind: I was going to tail him…So, as soon as I saw them, I instantly went into hiding. I didn´t know exactly why, but I needed to follow them. I kept myself in the shadows so that they wouldn´t see me. After a walking awhile, they entered a hotel. I waited for awhile and then went inside…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Ice cold Goddess

The manager told me I wasn´t allowed to go upstairs, but then I showed my detective badge and he let me go. I went upstairs quietly and heard noise coming from one of the rooms. It was a woman´s voice screaming…"yes Victor! yes! yes!" I had to peep in from a keyhole, and I saw everything; this count was full in action with this woman. "What a lady-killer! Engaged with another and having an affair with another!" I thought. I felt rage and …what? Relief that he had another woman?

I fled from the scene never them knowing anything. It all came to me, ever since meeting this woman I had felt strange…Something I never felt before. Should I go and tell her that her fiancé is cheating on her? Françoise, who are you anyway? I thought. She was a mystery to me. Before I knew it, I was at her door.

She was there. She didn´t look surprised at all."Oh, the red haired, right? That´s Cathy. They have known each other for years and they have been going out."

"What?!" I was shocked. How could she act so cool even when she knew her fiancé was cheating on her?…"You knew about her?" I asked her."Yes, of course. Like I said, they have been going out for years, long before Gerodero and I got into engage. Do you think that it would stop there?" she replied "Do really think that every couple who are engaged, are mad about each other?"

"Then why did you agreed to marry him?" I asked." It´s convenient…Besides…" she suddenly stopped. an angry look had appeared on her beautiful face…"Why do you play such an innocent man?!" she started to yell at me "You think I haven´t noticed the way you look at me?!"

"What?!" I got out of there.

Suddenly I didn´t feel like sleeping, so I headed for the bar. I sat there and took a drink. What was wrong with me? Did I really…What was the point of asking that, when I knew perfectly well the answer …She had gotten me into a trap. I never thought that anyone could do that, but she…was something. "Henry" I told myself " you shouldn´t get involved. She is still engaged, and what´s even more, she´s a victim of a burglary that you are investigating and that´s wrong to…"…"Another, please" I asked the bartender and handed the glass. Another glass of beer.

It was then, when Alain came to sit next to me. To my nuisance. Because he knew that I´ve been thinking about this lady. He knew me all too well. "Just forget about her and come with me to see some hookers. That´s it. I´ve had it. He was asking for it, so I punched him hard. He punched me back. Soon there was a bar fight going on and we were thrown out.

"I guess you´re right, Henry. I shouldn´t go there anymore. Maybe I should get a wife." he said."Yeah, you should. And couple of kids to keep you respective and away from trouble." I answered still feeling rather angry. We walked to my house, and met Dianne there, who was very caring towards us. That was no wonder, considering I have known her for a long time and her sister was my best friend. "Dianne, this is Alain. He works with me at the police Department" I introduced them. That which I regret doing, because soon Alain got interested in her."No Alain, she´s too respectful. Don´t ruin her" I told him to keep away from her."Oh yeah! What are you to tell when you drool after that lady Françoise!" he replied. But he was right. I told myself I shouldn´t see her, but…

I kept thinking about her. There was something mysterious about her. My thoughts wandered to the moment when I told her about her fiancé. …

She obviously didn´t love him, at least not that way. And then, she definitely was about to tell me something, when she suddenly changed her mid. I became obsessed about her. She had secrets and I just wanted to…dive in…

I woke up from my daydream up on a roof…"Henry, keep your head cool." I told myself. I was again trying to lure the burglar, this time armed with a gun. It had been a long day, and it wasn´t about to end soon. I saw a shadow moving fast and I knew it was him…the Black Knight, at least that´s the name they have given him. It was because of the fact that he was all covert in black and moved like a knight carrying a sword. I ran after him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Chasing the Black Knight

We ran through rooftops and this time I wasn´t going to let him get away. At least I had to get her jewelry back…Her? Oh God, was I thinking of her again? At that kind of a moment. Then, I got hold of him. We straggled fiercely. I managed to wound his leg but at the same time got a blow to my head. I passed out.

"Henry?" I heard someone calling my name. I had a tremendous headache. "Are you alright?" I opened my eyes and saw him, Peter, who was one of my (chimneysweepers)palls. I got up. It was a daytime already. "What happened?" he asked. "I…I don´t know. I think I was knocked out...He got away, again." I told him. Damn it! Why did it happen again? I had to catch him, no matter what. "Get home, get some sleep" he told me. And that I did.

When I got home, both Rosalie and grandmother was there waiting for me. They looked worried. I told them I was fine and went into bed. Once I´ve gotten into my bed, Rosalie came there. She didn´t say anything, but leaned towards me and kissed me. I pushed her away."What are you doing?" I yelled. She was red "I…was worried…and" she didn´t know what to say.

"I´m sorry, Rosalie, but…I´m not…" wait a minute, what was I saying? I had known for a long time that she had some feelings towards me, but I never really wanted to hurt her so I just pretended I didn´t know about those feelings, but now…I couldn´t continue anymore. I knew I could never fall in love with her, and I should say that so that she could stop waiting for me and find someone else, someone far better than me."I am not worthy of you. You know that, right. I love you as a friend and a sister and I will always look after you, but not that way. You deserve someone who loves you, and only you"

"So it is true!" she started to weep."What is?" I was lost. Or maybe it was because of my tiredness that I had no idea of what she was talking about. "Your grandmother and I have been suspecting for awhile now that you have found some…woman"

"What?" how would they know? "No, I…" I started but she insisted "I know you have been absent minded and your grandmother mentioned that you´ve called a name "Françoise" in your dreams. Who is she?" she wanted to know."It´s …" what was I saying? I had nothing to tell. Should I tell them that I´ve met a lady, who has been robbed and I´m investigating the matter and ... There´s nothing between us. Or is there? No, it was just unrequited love…But then again, she was about to tell me something. "Maybe I should visit her again" I thought. Then I fell in sleep. When I woke up, Rosalie had gone away. I hoped I wasn´t too cruel to her.

I knew there was something wrong about the whole thing, not just my attitude towards the lady, but she…she was acting kind of strangely. I needed to find out exactly what was it. Who knew, maybe she was involved in this robbery…

"No" I shook my head.

While I was on my way to see her, I saw Alain coming from Dianne´s home. "What are you doing there?" I asked him.

No reply.

I was a bit worried about Dianne, but at that moment, I didn´t have time. So, I continued my mission.

I went to her. Her father was away again, on a business trip-or something. I told her about my struggle with the Black Knight, but she was in her thoughts. What was she thinking? I then realized that I´ve been watching her for a long time now. My eyes were on her, entirely. I was admiring her beautiful dress, the way she was sitting on the couch next to me. For the first time I felt the desire rising inside me. She was gorgeous. her long skirt that covered her legs while she was sitting, her neck that was so slender as if she was a doll, her beautiful white skin and her thin body…I placed my hand on her skirt and started to lift it up. I had no idea why was I doing that. All of a suddenly she took a hold of my hand and leaned towards me. I felt her rosy lips on mine and I couldn´t control myself. I kissed her passionately. my other hand was going to grab her waist. But then, it all stopped as fast as it had started. She pushed me away and slapped me. "What are doing?!" I asked her."What are YOU doing?" she yelled at me. I was confused. Didn´t she just kiss me? She got up and said with her cool voice:"Leave!"

"But…" I tried to explain, but she ran for the butler who threw me out. What was that all about? I was completely surprised. Now, more than ever, I wanted to solve the mystery: I wanted to know everything about her. I was falling even deeper…


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Sherlock Holmes

But what could I do? I have tried everything I could think of. I have tried to catch the Black Knight, I tried to…What exactly? Become her lover? I just wanted to…Oh, I didn´t know. I thought of running away, but where? And even if I would do that, she would still be in my head. Should I then just get married to some decent young woman, like Rosalie? But even if I would convince her that I love her at the beginning, it wouldn´t last for long for her to find out the truth and make her miserable. Besides, I could never sleep with anyone without first falling in love.

No, I couldn´t do that. There was only one way: I had to make Françoise my own. But not as a lover, who would only visit me when the sun had gone out of sight. No, not like that. I wanted to make her mine without any shame and without hiding. I wanted her as my wife.

Maybe I should spy on her? No, I couldn´t do that. But, a thought came into my mind, I knew who could. I knew exactly who could help me with this problem, so I headed for the Baker Street…

I knocked on the door and asked if Mister Holmes was available. "Mister Holmes!" Missus Hudson yelled…"You have a client!" then she turned towards me and asked to come inside, which I kindly accepted. I heard someone playing the violin, which reminded me of her, again. Missus Hudson led me upstairs to a room, where I met Mister Sherlock Holmes and his partner Doctor Watson.

Holmes was sitting on a comfy chair smoking his pipe. Doctor Watson was sitting right near him, holding a newspaper in his hands.

They asked me to sit down and tell what´s on my mind. So, I started from the beginning, that is, when I first started to investigate these burglaries. I told them everything with the précised details because I knew that every little thing could be important. Mister Holmes just watched me when I told my story; he seemed rather impatient and fiddled with his thumbs while Doctor Watson was taking notes. After I had finished, mister Holmes said "How very interesting" he said with a tired voice "Now, why don´t you start telling us why you came here".

I was surprised "But…Didn´t I just say?" I watched them both. "No. That was just an excuse." then he got up from his chair and addressed doctor Watson " Come on, my dear Watson. Let us do something…"

"But" I got up too. Wouldn´t he listen to my worries." Mister Williams" he said with a frustrated voice "Will you get down to business and stop wasting my time!" I watched Doctor Watson."You´d better do that, if you want his help" he told me and I sat down. I didn´t exactly know where to start, because the whole case was a mystery to me from the beginning. I started to tell about the dreams I´ve been having ever since my childhood. Dreams, where a beautiful blond woman was. …She was always wearing a military uniform, an old type of a uniform. She was calling me… And then, when I met her, I couldn´t believe it: It was her. …

Describing Françoise…there´s something mysterious about her. Holmes is very interested in the fact that first she kissed me and then threw me out of her manor.

Doctor Watson said that he knew count René de Jarjayes, because they had been fighting in the same regiment; the Fifth Northumberland fusiliers in India, Watson as assistant surgeon. The count was a very strict man. But excellent soldier.

I told them that I´ve met him only once and that every time I visit there, he´s somewhere else. I told everything I knew about this man, without forgetting a tiniest detail.

Holmes just listened, while Doctor Watson took notes. Finally, Holmes promised to look into the matter of this mysterious woman.

The next morning I went to the head courters, the inspector called me into his office. He was furious, because I have been seeing in a bar fight and also I´ve been visiting a certain lady (de Jarjayes) many times.

He was yelling at me, giving no chance for me to explain myself. He told me that he had received an anonymous tip…"An anonymous tip?"…a letter had been sent to police station. But what for? In order to make me look like a bad guy…

In order for me to get fired….

and to get off the case…


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Another Black Knight

I tried to explain that I have only doing my job investigating the burglaries, but the boss didn´t believe me. Then, when I started to ask me about the bar fight, which I admit-I was guilty of-Alain came to rescue me.

It was Alain, who convinced the boss that it was just the trick, and there was no reason to fire me.

I asked Alain why he had come to my rescue, he replied that he know knew what was it all about being in love with a woman. He felt sorry for me because he knew that I had fell into deep and-hopeless?-love with this lady de Jarjayes.

After getting back to my own desk, I started to wonder about the anonymous tip. Who had sent it? and for what purpose? Obviously someone wanted to take me off the case. That only meant that I was getting close. I examined the note-letter thoroughly but found nothing special. He was good. But if the person who sent the note, knew about the bar fight, he must have been following me. This was getting interesting.

For the next couple of days I didn´t hear anything from neither of Holmes nor of her. Even the Black Knight seemed to be resting. In a meanwhile I took Rosalie out to a café I knew. I wanted at least her to be happy. I knew that the café was full of decent people, also young men …

We went to sit down. We had arrived just in time, because it was the last free table. For awhile we sat there drinking tea, …and talked. I admit, that I really liked talking to her. She was like my own sister. So understanding.

"Black Knight…" Rosalie started…"I think I´ve heard that name before…" she wondered."Yes, probably you have" I replied "He´s been robbing the rich people for over a month now…" I couldn´t finish my sentence, when she interrupted me "No, Henry. That´s not it. I´m sure I have heard that name somewhere else…" She was very convinced that she had, but unfortunately she couldn´t remember where. That was indeed a puzzle.

Right at that moment, I felt as if someone was watching us, so I turned and looked around. I noticed that a young man was watching us, or rather; Rosalie. Was he a bit interested in her? He looked like a decent guy, so I finished my coffee and got up. I went to him and offered my seat to him, because I had to leave. I introduced them to each other …his name was Bernard…Bernard Chatelet. As I introduced them to each other, I couldn't help noticing the way Rosalie looked at him. She seemed to like him. It was then when I thought it was alright for me to leave.

"I´m sorry Rosalie, but I have to leave. What you just said, made me wonder about something…Well, anyway I have to go to a bookstore to check it out " …and then I left.

I went to all the bookstores I knew and asked if the shopkeepers knew anything about the Black Knight. Most of them just talked about the recent …, but then, my luck turned: "You´re asking about the black Knight that …in France before the Revolution…Suddenly, he disappeared and no one ever found out his true identity" he told me.

Why was this Black Knight using the same name as the one in the past? Was it just a coincident? Somehow I had a feeling that this Black Knight had chosen the same name deliberately. But why? Was they related? Or was there something else behind it?

After searching out all the bookstores I went back home and helped my grandmother to clean. after that I went to bed, but I couldn´t sleep. I only thought of her. I had to…see her. I got up and got dressed. then, I took a horse from the stable and rode to her manor. I couldn´t knock on the door in the middle of the night, what would the butler say to that. So, with this crazy idea in mid, I climb to the top floor and got into from a balcony.

It was quite dark inside and I couldn´t see anything. But then I felt something, or rather-someone grapping me and taking me down to the floor. I was all in shock. It had happened so fast that I couldn´t do anything. And my whole body was aching. Who was that? For a flash of a moment I thought of the Black Knight. Had he come to burglar this manor again? At least I knew that this man who attacked me had to be strong and agile.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Mysterious lady Françoise

Then, someone came into the room and lighted the candles. It was her."What the h…" she started yelling at me with an angry look on her face…"Mister Williams" she changed the tone of her voice, and also, her wordings…"What are you doing here in the middle of the night?" she put the candlestick on the table and came towards me."I…" started."Did you see him?"

"Who?" she asked me."The man. The burglar…The…" I was confused…"The man who attacked me?" She laughed "Mister Williams. I saw no one. You must have hit your head while forcing your way into this room." she told me. I knew it was a lie. But who was she protecting, anyway? And why? Was it one of her servants? Or…as I suspected-the Black Knight himself? But why would she protect him? There was really something strange going on here…"Mister Williams. I think you´d better leave. Now" she told me."But…" I tried to explain. "I`ll be ease for you, this time. And letting you go. But if you ever force your way in to my manor again, I will have to inform your superiors". Then a couple of servants walked me to the front door.

"Goodbye, mister Williams. I hope you´ll send someone else to investigate the burglary of my house." then she slammed the door shut right at my face. I deserved that. But…

Then, on the next day while I was resting and healing my aching body, I got a note from Mister Holmes. It said to come at his place-at once. I did. Even thought my grandmother tried to stop me, but I didn´t listen to her. I needed to know the truth.

As I reached his front door, it suddenly flew open and both he and Doctor Watson came out of there in a hurry."Come, mister Williams" Holmes said to me "Into the carriage." As soon as we had sat in there, he told the driver to drive to de Jarjayes manor. "But why?" I asked. "Have you found out something about her?" I asked.

"Yes." he replied. I looked at Doctor Watson for an explanation for his short answer. But he was as amazed as I was."Tell me everything that happened last night" Holmes then asked me. I told them –in details-what had happened, and what I suspected. "I know there was man in the room who attacked me and he had to leave through the door, which she then came in. She had to see the culprit, but…" Holmes smiled "As I suspected. This lady of yours fascinates me."

"Excuse me?" I was stumbled. I had no idea of what he was talking about."Elementary, my dear Watson" he told his friend. "This man is so in love that he doesn´t see what´s right in front of him. This case is so simple that it´s so complicated!" he laughed. "Sometimes even I don´t understand him." Doctor Watson told me. "Won´t you tell us what you know, Holmes" he then said to his friend. "No, not yet. You see, I do have strong suspicions, but as long as I don´t have any evidence, my suspicions will remain suspicions. And first, I want to meet this lady."

"Mister Williams, you have to ask yourself one question: why did she kiss you that night?"

"Isn´t it as important as the question, why she pushed me away that night?"

"No. We already know the answer to that question."

Finally, our carriage was there right in front of her house. We got out and Mister Holmes knocked on the door and we were let inside. She soon came to greet us. I couldn´t believe her manors; she was really nice to us, even to me. Like a perfect hostess. And that what´s strike me as odd. Was she pretending because Holmes was there and she felt threatened? Somehow I hated that situation; I liked her more when she was sassy. She even plaid the violin for us. Holmes watched her every move…

Then, we got out of there. Holmes knew everything about her, but he wasn´t ready to say that before getting some evidence. And he also warned me: "Beware, she is dangerous"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The truth about the Black Knight

I had done some more digging into the French Black Knight and I was quite sure now, that the motives for the burglaries were exactly the same; they both wanted to help the poor by robbing the rich…To tell you the truth, there were times I regretted been a detective. This time was it. Even if I knew burglary was wrong, but at least he gave the jewels to the poor that really needed it…

The only way to get to the bottom of this, was to lurk and catch the Black knight in action. We just needed to wait for an opportunity.

Then, something strange happened: lady de Jarjayes sent me a note and invited me there. Candlelight supper. Romance. Dancing. Kissing.

"Mister Williams" she whispered."Call me Henry" I said. "Henry?" she looked puzzled."Really?" I told my name was Henry and asked her the reason of her surprise. But she didn´t reply.

She told that she could break up her engagement and become my fiancée if I called Holmes off. We went to the couch and she started to kiss me. It was very sensual. I leaned towards her. I´ve never felt that kind of a passion before. For the first time in my life I felt that way about a woman…She was driving me crazy.

"I´m sorry" I said and pushed her away.

I told her I couldn´t tell Holmes about dropping the case and I left. Why couldn´t I just leave it there? I would gladly let him go, but it wasn´t just about giving jewelry to the poor. There was more to it and I knew she was involved. Somehow. Maybe I felt jealous, because…Was the Black Knight her lover?

The next day, after work, I went to see Holmes. I wanted to go with them to lure the Black Knight. As I revealed my pistol, he took it away from me and said:"If my calculations are correct, and my suspect will arrive, you really shouldn´t use any weapon." he told me."Why?" I asked."You still haven´t figure it out, have you? Have you noticed anything strange about her?" he asked me. Have I noticed anything strange? Of course I have, the way she gets onto to me and next pushes me away. "Her corset"

"What?!" I was shocked."So, you haven´t noticed. even if you stare her all the time!" he said and turned to Doctor Watson "You see, this man is an excellent example of what love can do to people; they become completely blind" Her corset? No, I havent´ noticed anything. Should I have? "well, mister Williams. Everything will become clear tonight. But, don´t take anything with you that might do harm. You would regretted tremendously"

So, that night we waited. All three of us. We waited for a long time, but the waiting was rewarded. the Black Knight came. We fought furiously. But because there was more of us, we finally managed to win. We were able to get him down on the floor. I kept him there. Doctor Watson lighted the candle and Holmes kneed in front of the thief.

"So, Black Knight-or should I say-lady Françoise de Jarjayes-you´re identity is finally revealed." he said and took her mask off. It was her; my lady…I was shocked. She smiled "Congratulations, mister Holmes." she said. "You´ve got the thief. What are you going to do? Hand me to the authorities?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Call me Oscar

He laughed "it was because of mister Williams that I got interested in this case, but since I already know everything, I let him to decide what to do." Me? I was speechless. I have doubted something, but this…

"Her corset" Holmes started was a bit too loose, because she hadn´t really get used to wearing one."That´s right. I hate those deathtraps. And I hate dresses. I´ve always liked to wear men´s clothing." she explained.

Then she told us her story of how her father had wished for a boy, but she was born. He was disappointed, so he concentrated on his work and stated away long time. Meanwhile her mother raised her as a boy in secret. She learned how to use sword, how to fight etc. She never told her father. But after her mother passed away, her father became obsessed with an idea of having a grandson and decided to get her into engaged. First she had said no, but then she had changed her mind, because that was a perfect disguise to lead a twin life. She knew that count Gerodero wasn´t interested in her, so she had no trouble of him. While he played with his lover, she broke into rich people´s homes, stole their belonging and gave them to the poor."

"What!?" I was shocked "Françoise! How could you marry someone only because of your twin life?" I asked her. "Oscar. Call me Oscar. I hate the name Françoise anyway. My mother used to call me Oscar. And I wasn´t going to go through with the wedding"

"Oscar" I said and leaned towards her."That´s the name I call in my dreams"

"Mister Williams, I think you can manage this now" Holmes said and left with Doctor Watson.

"Thank you, mister Holmes. And doctor Watson. For everything" I said.

We were both quite. It was peculiar that I had nothing to say. I had thought that I would have a lots of things to say, when I would catch the thief, but my mind was just…blank.

I took Oscar to her home. At her doorstep I fell down on my knee in front of her.

I confessed my love and propose to her. "I´ll give up my job." I said.

"I´m sorry" she answered. "But I was never in love with you. I only kissed you, because I was scared that you would find out who I really was…"

"Oh…"

"But you can still come in, if you want to…"

So I did. For some reason, I was a little worried about her, so I stayed for the night. Sleeping on the couch. I thought that when the morning would come, we would talk things through and decide, what would happen.

But…

But in the morning, when I woke up, she wasn´t there. I panicked and ran to see Holmes. He said that she probably is at the train station.

She was running away from me.

I ran there and find her. She was teary. "Please, let me go!"

"No"

"Then, arrest me"

"No"

"But…"

I said that it didn´t matter whether she was a thief or not. She did give the jewelry to the poor.

"But I can´t let you ruin your career" she said

"I could start loving you…"

"If the circumstances were different…"

I took her into my arms and kissed her. "Oscar, I love you. I could do anything for you, anything."

"I´m through with wearing dresses!" she told me and pushed me away.

"You don´t have to wear a dress" I said. In fact, I´d love to see her in a uniform…

"My father will not accept you" she continued. "He will never give us his blessing"

"Then, my love. Let´s run away." I told her. Right at that moment the whistle told the travelers to get on the train.

"I can´t"

"Yes, you can" I replied "You don´t have anything to lose. With me you could start a new life, get a job and wear men´s clothing, if you want"

"…"

She smiled to me, took my hand and we ran together into the train. I hit myself into her cabin –that is, because only she had a ticket-and together we travelled far away from London…

P.S.

After a few months we got married in a small church, and we sent two telegrams: one telegram to my office saying I quit and the other to her father about our marriage. We settled down into a small town and there Oscar gave birth to our two daughters…

Oh, I got to go now. She´s calling me…


End file.
